Los Angeles Architectural History

Tuesday, January 19, 2016

I may be be one of those Democrats which are cited as a Democrat who is in favor of "responsible" gun legislation. When can "we" expect some?

Can any of you give a single example of how any of the current proposed legislation or current laws would have stopped any of the horrid events we have seen in the past YEARS in the news or reported in the media?

Can any of you give me an answer of how any of your legislation will stop firearms from being acquired by people who do not follow laws?

In regard to Assembly Bills 1663 and 1664; People in California already went through a process deemed legal at the time of purchase of these firearms. They went through a background check, waiting period, registration process, and paid fees as noted in the graphic at the top of this piece.

To require additional fees and registration is not what I feel is "responsible legislation" on many levels, There are additional aspects to the legality, it not just the rationality, of AB 1663/1664. What about passing property down to heirs when I pass away? Firearms will be held to a different standard than other legally purchased items?

If I owned a classic car, the car could no longer be produced. Yet, I could sell the car or pass it down to my children. The car would retain full value. This is not the case here.

Our government insists that they are looking to enact registration and practices which do not take legally purchased property from people. This is clearly a road which is contraindicated.

If AB 1663/1664 is passed, I hope people will not take any steps to be compliant with this law. I hope they will be willing to be prosecuted. I hope the National Rifle Association will have attorneys available to represent us on a case by case basis. I also hope people bring cases into small claims court against the California Attorney General and the other individuals responsible for this bill for the loss of personal property and the value when the firearm cannot be sold, passed down to their heirs, or has lost it's value.

Looking at these two bills raises a question. Is the object of our legislature to write the same bill multiple times with slightly different wording in the thought that one of them will go unnoticed by their constituents? I am insulted that you feel we are all that stupid and uninformed. Hopefully many will return the respect and sentiment when they vote.

Yes, I am a Democrat. I have been a member of the NRA on and off. My reason for leaving the NRA at times was that I felt that too many members made rash and emotional statements that reflected poorly on the organization. But, even to me, this reeks of a government wanting to eliminate firearms from being in possession of anybody other than those under direct control of the government in some manner such as law enforcement and our military.

I wonder how many people realize that this could classify pistols such as the M1911 pistol (Colt Government 1911) as an "assault weapon" as well? I am sure that the government hopes that most people don't realize this.

In the future, I intend to vote against any Democratic candidate for any position. I always used to vote for Assemblyman Mike Gatto as I felt he was one of the "good folks". Unfortunately, I will not feel comfortable doing that in the future as I will now see him as somebody that belongs to a bad organization.

I attempted to write each of you from your online contact website but was not allowed to do so as you are not in my district. Considering that the actions you have taken impact people outside of your district, I find this highly irresponsible. I tried to call numbers on your websites, including you Kamala Harris, and was received by automated phone systems that give lists of other departments or numbers to call. In the case of Philip Y. Ting. his numbers did not work, he does not have a Facebook page as other noted in this piece, and for a public official, is anything but accessible.

I have written all of you on Facebook (excepting Ting) with a few questions. As of this time I have received no response, not even a form letter. In the case of Ting, I did find a Twitter page where I asked him something. I have received no response. I am waiting.

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About Me

I started this blog on December 13, 2009 to raise awareness on the homeless situation which is growing due to the current economic situation in this country. Two priorities at this period in my life are helping the homeless on the streets of Los Angeles and helping musicians sound better one amp at a time.

Who am I?

It is said that a picture is speaks a thousand words. Here are over three thousand random photos in a slide show. This is what I do, who I know, where I go.

An emotionally draining slideshow which mixes art, whimsy, low production values, a general lack of composition, sexual tension, nausea and the feeling of foolishness you have if you can watch the entire show from beginning to end.

What could be better than an album of nothing but low resolution shots taken with my cellphone (and a few from friends cellphones as well) ... and then, take these low resolution photos and upload them in real time to facebook where the quality and size is reduced even more?

Why I do what I do

To the folks who ask why I do what I do.

For many decades I worked in the corporate sector for very large companies. I worked many hours each week.

On some occasions I actually felt as if I made a change in a life. I could help somebody in their career. I could teach somebody something technical. Those sorts of things.

40-60 hours a week or more was generally not all that rewarding other than the friends I made along the way and the occasional change as I was able to make a difference.

I worked hard to make changes in my own life as most of us do. I made money to buy a house, raise a family. Family and friends are one side of our lives. The outside world is another.

I now have two main "jobs" each day. One is to help guitarists sound better, one amp at a time. I help folks in the music business and pass on what I have learned over decades walking this planet. I also try to help other people who are building their own career. That is one of the joys of being my age. You can help those on their path of building their own lives.

My second "job" is helping the homeless on the streets on Los Angeles. Five or ten hours on the street each week helping people makes more of a direct impact on more people than a month of work in my old life. Whether I feed people a snack, listen to what they have to say, give them a card from http://www.urm.org/ or walk them down to Union Rescue Mission I feel I am making life a little better for somebody.

In order to do something good one generally has to do something as in perform some sort of action. Los Angeles has the highest homeless population in the nation. Perhaps I feel as if I needed to do something.

Pay Pal Donations and a bit more information

My paypal button. If you wish to make a direct donation to supply night time snacks to the homeless in the streets of Los Angeles please use the paypal button below.

The link below to paypal is to donate money for the healthy snacks I pass out to the folks that live on the street in the evenings. These are the folks that for their own reasons do not partake of the services offered by the missions.

My evening time spent on skid row is my own activity. The residents of the streets of skid row are my teachers. They each have things to say if you take the time to listen.

Helping me directly via paypal is not tax deductible. As many of you know more than 100% of these funds go to snacks for the folks on the street as I tend to take cash out of my own pocket.

If you would rather contribute to an organization where you can receive a tax deduction and use credit card, paypal, text message, personal check or most any other form of payment just hit the donate button at http://urm.org/ These folks know how to stetch a dollar and $10 will feed five people a healthy hot meal. The folks at URM help those in the system so to speak. I try to help those who reject organized assistance for their own personal reasons and do not wish to be in any system. In addition to my own activities I also contribute out of my own pocket to Union Rescue Mission.

Thank you

Union Rescue Mission - What they do.

I talk a lot about Union Rescue Mission on this blog. I also talk a lot about them on facebook. I talk about them on my GAB website.

Many of my friends have become friends with Union Rescue Mission and members of their staff. I am sure many of you feel the same way I do about what they do and are a little bit better for knowing them.

There is a place on the URM website where there are a few videos. If you take a few minutes to look at this page and the videos you may learn a bit more about the work these folks do. http://www.urm.org/services/what-we-do.html

Video Channel for Union Rescue Mission

I had a little video widget but blogger seems to have timing issues with youtube. Random videos were usually displayed from everywhere. The direct link below is much more reliable.

Take a few moments to make a big difference

To donate $10 to Union Rescue Mission, text the letters URM to 85944. You will receive a confirmation text message. Reply with the word YES to complete the transaction.

Serving thousands of meals per day is just one of many services provided by the folks at URM.

From the URM website: The Union Rescue Mission (URM) is one of the largest missions of its kind in America--bringing help and hope to homeless and desperately poor men, women, and children of downtown Los Angeles.

URM was founded in 1891 by Lyman Stewart, president and founder of Union Oil Company. George A. Hilton served as the first superintendent of the Mission, originally known as the Pacific Gospel Union. During those early days, URM took to the streets in gospel wagons to offer food, clothing, and salvation to the less fortunate.

Over the years URM has continued and expanded its efforts to feed both the body and the soul, helping individuals and families break the cycle of poverty and achieve self-sufficiency.

Saunders Stewart Models

Although I generally wear flannel and Levi 501s some seem to think I know a bit about fashion and take a decent photograph now and then. I am an owner/partner in a model agency ( www.saunders-stewart-models.com). We supply models to the music industry (music videos), spokesmodels, product models etc. If you would like to be considered for SSM representation (non-exclusive if you desire) please send an email to models@guitaramplifierblueprinting.com.

Continually changing shots of a few SSM models available for your projects

Subscribers

Blog Traffic - Total Post Reads

I track both subscriber count and reader/visitor count as they are two different sets of data. Subscribers are the long term audience who get updates each time something new is posted or an ongoing post is updated.

Subscriber statistics are in the section above this entry on the page.

This blog was created in December 2009. Statistics were enabled on July 1, 2010. From July 1, 2010 to July 1, 2013 there were more than 12 million reads of this blog.

The average readership is over 350,000 readers per month. There have been months with over two times that amount depending on the subjects posted. Posts are also seen on facebook, twitter, google buzz, blogger, digg it, atom and many other services that have opted to distribute my antics for reasons that are at times a mystery to me.

My Guitar Amplifier Blueprinting website continues to receive over 5,000 visitors per day but I now update this blog much more often than my GAB website. It is easier to update, I can do it from any computer or cell phone and has a content which is much more diverse than my music related website.

Thanks for following, thanks for reading and thank you for sending the link of this site to your friends.

Andy Bales and the staff of Union Rescue Mission, Jacqui Groseth, Alexander Cornejo II. Located in downtown Los Angeles, URM is the oldest and largest mission in the nation. The staff and entire organization at URM make me feel that my own small efforts to help the homeless have some degree of value. These folks serve over 3,000 meals a day (over a million meals a year) 365 days a year three meals a day. When I feel that the end goal seems to be like one pushing against the incoming tide and feel beaten down I think of Andy Bales and his staff and find a bit more drive to continue. Look at their website to see how many services these folks offer. www.urm.org